This car can be driven anywhere. Head turner. Performance: The best-handling FWD car ever
For starters, there's more than enough power -- probably too much for your average Mini driver. There's enough grunt available before the turbo spools up so that the JCW never feels laggy. However there is a night-and-day difference between the zippy below-4,500rpm performance and the neck-snapping push that's generated when the turbocharger starts whistling. A weighty manual gearbox slips almost effortlessly between its six well-spaced gears with a flick of the wrist, making it easy to keep the revs up and the turbo spinning. The gas and brake pedals were nicely spaced for heel-toeing.

It is, however, a motorsports weapon. The JCW Coupe is suspended over sticky tires with stiff sidewalls and even stiffer springs. It claws at the asphalt around every bend, generating fantastic grip and communicating the very texture of the road up through its chunky steering wheel. Like most front drivers, the JCW will push understeer through a turn if you overdo it. But with the grip and information provided by the suspension and chassis, it is remarkably easy to feel and control the vehicle's weight transfer to keep the car neutral and balanced when approaching, apexing, and exiting a turn. Stand the car on its nose by trail-braking the large, four-piston Brembo brakes and you may even be able to eke out a bit of grin-inducing oversteer. Simply put, the John Cooper Works Coupe is easily one of the best-handling (if not the best) front-wheel-drive vehicles that I have ever driven. Over a smooth surface like you can expect to find at your local autocross or track day event, there's simply nothing negative to say about this car's handling.